Building Belonging Through Accessible Play

Playing with bubbles or pressing a toy to make it sing and dance are simple ways children play and engage, but for the students at Friendship School, interacting with a toy off the shelf is rarely possible. 

The students at Friendship School, a special education school operated by the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) serving southern San Diego County, have multiple severe disabilities with health impairments, and require one-on-one assistance for daily tasks, including playing with toys.

However, through a collaboration between SDCOE staff and students, this past holiday season Friendship School received more than a dozen popular electronic toys that were modified to be connected and operated by switch adaptors, making them more inclusive and accessible for students with disabilities.

Staff from across the organization donated toys in the months leading up to the holiday season, and during a three-day toy adapting program, students from SDCOE’s Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) learned more about their peers who live with severe disabilities and what kinds of modifications are necessary to make toys more accessible to them.​

Led by Educational Technology Director Dr. Alicia Gallegos Butters and Project Specialist Carrie Lane, South County Academy and Global Academy students rolled up their sleeves and worked together during the program to understand the different challenges students with disabilities face, and design and create inclusive solutions to help enhance their peers’ classroom experiences.

“This experience was an opportunity for our JCCS students to learn more about students with disabilities, and learn how to create toys that these students can interact and play with,” said Lane. “Our goal with this program is to really create these unique transformational experiences for our JCCS students, where they learn how to use tools and technology like soldering irons and 3D modeling programs to create practical, real-world solutions that can make a difference in the lives of others.”

During the program, students designed 3D prints of classroom objects that Friendship School students and staff requested, like models of the solar system and small trophies for classroom competitions.​

“It makes me feel good knowing I’m able to give a kid the opportunity to play with a toy that they see other kids playing with,” explained Yalena, a Global Academy student who participated in the program.

On the final day of the program students learned to use tools they’d never handled before, like wire strippers, drills, and soldering irons, to add switch adapters to more than a dozen toys donated by staff. Among the popular toys the students worked on were spin art machines, dice rollers, bubble machines, vibrating hedgehog stuffed animals, and singing Bluey character dolls.

“I’ve never done anything like this before, but now that I know how to adapt these toys so that kids with disabilities can use them, I definitely want to do this more,” added Aliyah, also a Global Academy student. “I’m excited to see students at Friendship School playing with these toys.”

“Seeing my students get involved, get excited about others, empathize with others, and actually problem solve is really exciting,” said Dr. Tamara Davis, an independent studies teacher at Global Academy. “Because my students do most of their work independently, they don’t have very many opportunities to interact with their peers and work together, so this has been a really important and beneficial experience for them.”

At the completion of the program, Lane delivered the adapted toys to Friendship School, where they were immediately incorporated into classroom activities. For the staff and students there, these new toys created new opportunities for play and interaction, supporting students’ independence and inclusion in meaningful ways.

“Having access to these adapted toys not only creates a pathway to inclusion into those activities for our students, but also creates a meaningful way to integrate and enjoy things all students love to do,” said Rachel Page, principal at Friendship School.

Through this collaborative effort, SDCOE staff and students involved in the toy adapting program demonstrated that understanding and belonging are built through intentional design, shared responsibility, and learning experiences that connect students to one another.